Stooge
The concept behind this recording is supposedly a musical representation of surgery without anesthesia. Having no idea what that’s like (thankfully!!), I’m not sure if the album reached its objective. It does feature a haunting atmosphere and a great variety of percussion and sound effects to help set the mood. Patton’s falsetto vocal delivery, mixed with the low end created by Buzz Osborne and Trevor Dunn’s respective instruments, also help contribute to the eeriness of the track. Coming in the form of one 74-minute track, however, this is sure to be quite trying on the casual listener’s patience.
The first time I listened to this album, I didn’t know what to think of it. Now that I’m more familiar with what Fantomas has to offer, I can say this is a pretty good release. Is it something I’d listen to on a regular basis? No. But I’d give serious thought into using it as a soundtrack for trick-or-treaters when October 31 rolls around. It gives me goosebumps anyways!!
A 3 rating puts this in the “good, but non-essential” range, so that’s what I’ll go with. This album is definitely a grower, and I can only see my appreciation of it going up.